Dia has given me an identity: director KS Ashoka

After Dia evolved into a brand on OTT platforms, viewers have been interested to know about director K S Ashoka’s next. “After Dia,  I am looking to do a psycho thriller as my next project,” reveals the director, who is currently researching the script. “I am personally a big fan of serial killer stories. It’s a genre that is rarely attempted by filmmakers. My all-time favourite has been the Korean film, Memories of Murder, a crime drama helmed by Parasite director Bong Jooh-ho. My must-watch list also includes the mystery thriller Zodiac, which is based on real-life events, and Seven, which is one of the flicks shown at film institutes. I also liked the making of the Tamil psychological crime thriller, Ratsasan,” says the director. “Such films require a lot of homework, and we need to gather the right facts. It’s very important to get the flavour of the concept and give it a cinematic twist. All of it will take some time,” he adds.

Dia hit the theatres on February 7, and after two months of its release on the OTT platform, the director is happy with the response from filmmakers, who are now keen to associate with him. “A few days ago, actor Pruthvi Ambar, music director Ajaneesh Lokanath and I received a call from Puneeth Rajkumar, and he had few good words to say. I felt happy to hear appreciation about my work and the film. He has also offered me a chance to work under his banner, PRK Productions,” says Ashoka, who was equally excited to receive a call from senior Tamil filmmaker P Bharathiraja. “I was contacted by his team on Facebook and it was followed by a personal call from the ace director himself. He mentioned that he could not sleep the day he watched Dia, and it was so gratifying to hear that from a director of his stature. Then there was Sudha Kongara, the director of Soorarai Pottru, who appreciated my film, and she also mentioned it was director Raju Hirani’s wife who referred the film to her. All of this coming from various corners was only an encouragement,” he recalls.

Apart from this, Ashoka has also been in talks with the Telugu film banner Vyjayanthi Movies, that has made films like Maharshi and Shakti. “The initial discussion has happened, and they were planning to fly me down to Hyderabad, but then the lockdown was initiated,” he says.

Ashoka asserts that though an equal effort was put in to make his debut film. 6-5=2. “However, Dia has given me an identity, and today, film industries across languages are aware that a certain K S Ashoka exists. Moreover, it's a pleasure to know that the entire world watched the film and talked about its artistic aspects. The producer, Krishna Chaitanya, is still in talks with producers from across various languages for remake rights,” he adds.